


In the Tall Grass

by veenaistired



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Meet-Cute, i just really needed the seratonin, tenten is a witch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 00:04:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21188228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veenaistired/pseuds/veenaistired
Summary: Neji is supposed to be house-sitting for his uncle, when a certain witch crashes her broom in the backyard.





	In the Tall Grass

**Author's Note:**

> This idea just wouldn't let me rest, so here it is. When life hits you hard, sometimes you need some lighthearted nejiten and I shall provide. It even fits with the current season. I know I'm a few days early but happy Halloween/Samhain!

It was supposed it be a regular Friday evening. Quiet, might even a bit boring, but normal in every sense of the word. Neji was sitting on the sofa in his uncle’s living room, laptop on his lap, reviewing some material for an upcoming exam. Truth be told, it was making his head ache. People could call him a genius all they wanted, but that didn’t make this any less hard. At least there weren’t any relatives around this evening to bother him and he didn’t expect any of them to show up either. That was kind of the point of housesitting. You drove all the way out to some tiny town in the middle of nowhere and in turn, got some peace and quiet. Suited him just right, especially in the light of that exam. But, well, that evening would turn out to be everything but peaceful _or_ quiet. 

He was typing away on the laptop, mind far removed from anything and everything going on outside the confines of the screen. That’s why the sudden, loud noise coming from outside absolutely caught him off guard, so much he flinched in his seat. What was that? Closing the device, he got to this feet. The noise had come from the backyard, though Neji had absolutely no idea as to what could've caused it. A person? An animal? Whatever it was, he wasn't going to find out by twiddling thumbs so he quickly put on his shoes and left through the backdoor.

At first glance, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a vast meadow that was part of the rather large property, overgrown with almost knee-high grass and the occasional tree. He was about to write the mysterious noise off and head back inside when he noticed it.

Neji almost couldn’t believe his eyes. There, in the tall grass, lay a woman. Out cold. And bleeding. Shit. 

Panic started to quickly rise within him and he quickly closed the remaining distance between them, sprinting. Questions were already rapidly flashing through his mind. Who was she? How had she gotten hurt? Had someone attacked her or was it an accident? And why in the world would she walk all the way out to his uncle’s rather secluded house in a state like that?

The first thing he checked for was whether or not she was actually alive which, thank god, she was. So at least there wasn’t a corpse lying in his uncle’s backyard right now. Up close, she didn’t look hurt too badly. No obviously broken bones, no wound that was bleeding too strongly. Still, he wasn’t an expert and just because someone didn’t look injured, didn’t mean they were fine. Besides she was unconscious and, if nothing else, there was always the possibility that she’d hurt her head when she fell. So, determined to keep the possible damage to a minimum, he fumbled for his phone in the back pocket of his pants, only to realize that he’d left it in the house. Great. 

Neji was trying to decide between going back inside to call an ambulance right away or staying with the woman because leaving an unconscious person out in the yard even for a minute felt plain wrong, but the dilemma took care of itself. She stirred, releasing a low groan before opening her eyes. Eyes of such a deep brown they were almost black. 

"Ugh, shit."

"Miss, are you alright?" 

"That stupid fucking broom. Sorry, I’m usually a good flier." Wait, what? Nothing she’d said made even a lick of sense. Which meant she probably _had_ hit her head. 

"I think you might be having a concussion. Just stay here, I’m going to call an ambulance now." At that, her eyes widened in what seemed to be panic and she pushed herself up onto her elbows, grabbing one of his wrists as if to stop him from leaving.

"No, don’t!" Well, that wasn’t suspicious at all. She seemed to realize that as well, looking away and quickly withdrawing her hand. "I’m good seriously", she tried to reassure. Of course she was. 

"No offense, but you aren’t looking particularly well right now."

"Smooth."

„I meant you’re bleeding.“ 

"Oh…yeah." It seemed as if she was just now realizing the state she was in. What the hell was going on with that woman? "I mean, it’s just scrapes, I’ll be fine." with that, she pushed herself up from the ground or at least tried to. The woman didn’t quite make it to her feet, clutching her head and muttering another curse under her breath. 

"Miss, I really think you should stay put for now." Even though her refusing to keep still annoyed him to no end, he couldn't help the genuine concern that shone through in his voice.

Naturally, she didn't listen to him. Neji felt his patience running thin as she tried to stand up again, this time succeeding but swaying dangerously. Quickly, he got up as well, steadying her. It was obvious she wouldn't take his advice and take it easy and he'd rather not have her hit her head _again._

"Look", he began, trying not to let his irritation show, "Let's get you inside for now. You can sit down there until you feel better." Upon that, she tensed up a bit, shooting him a glare. 

"Yeah right, I'm going to follow the stranger into his house, no questions asked. In your dreams." He merely sighed. Why was this woman insisting on being so diffucult? 

"Excuse me, but you're the one who just showed up on private property, hurt and passed out, and now doesn't want me to call the authorities. Between the two of us, I'd say you're the suspicious one." That one seemed to work, the edge subsiding from her gaze as she seemingly considered what he'd said. 

"Alright, fine." _Finally_. Just when he was about to lead her back to the house, she turned the whole situation around once more. "But we gotta find my broom first."

"Your what?" So either she'd taken a hefty hit to the head, or she already hadn't been in her right mind before, well, whatever happened here. Maybe both.

"My broom. It can't be far." 

She said those words as if looking for a damn broom in a situation like this was the most natural thing in the world. Before Neji could protest, she'd pushed his hand off her elbow and started walking around the vicinity on shaky legs, eyes trained onto the ground. He could feel a light headache building behind his eyes. This wasn't going to end well. For the lack of a better option, he followed the woman. 

For the second time that evening, he had a hard time believing what he saw. On the ground, somewhat obscured by the grass, lay a broom, one of those old-fashioned ones you only really saw in children's picture books, broken clean in half. What kind of person walked around with a broken broom all day? 

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!" She was obviously upset. "Stupid piece of trash I just enchanted you!" Very upset. And quite possibly a lunatic. 

Letting out a frustrated groan she scrambled to pick up the pieces, almost tripping over herself in the process. The display was so strange he didn't dare interfere even though she still didn't look too stable on her feet. For a second, all he could do was stare. Until she turned around to face him, a sour look on her face. 

"What?!" He simply kept looking at her, silently, somewhat taken aback by the sudden outburst. "Ugh, sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I'm good to go inside now though if you still insist on it."

"It's alright, let's just go. Do you want me to carry that for you?", he offered, pointing at the broken pieces she was cradling to her chest. It didn't seem too heavy, but considering she'd been out cold just a few minutes ago it would've felt wrong not to offer. For a moment it seemed as if she was going to protest, clutching the broom even tighter, as if he was going to take it from her but, then, took a step towards him and handed it over.

"Thanks."

Neji nodded and, broken household tool in one hand, his other one resting on the woman's upper back, just in case she was about to fall over again, he guided her back to the house. Once inside, he forewent taking off his shoes to walk her to the very same armchair he'd been sitting in a few minutes before. To his surprise, and relief, she didn't protest this time around when he motioned for her to sit down. Not knowing what to do with the broom, he laid the pieces onto the coffee table. Only then it occurred to him that he had absolutely no clue what to do with the situation. After a few awkward moments of silence, during which he didn't dare look her in the face, he spoke up.

"Are you certain you don't want an ambulance?" At this point, it wasn't hard to predict her answer, but he felt obligated to ask nevertheless.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Neji felt he didn't have it in him to fight her on this, so he simply raised an eyebrow. "The room isn't spinning anymore, so I'm pretty sure I don't have a concussion." Great. She didn't _think_ she had a concussion. How very reassuring.

"You do realize you were unconscious when I found you? How did you even get all the way out here in that condition? And why?" 

The young woman looked away, an uncomfortable silence settling over them. It didn't feel right, pushing her, but he did need to know why she'd been trespassing on his uncle's property. When it was clear she wouldn't be answering anytime soon, he released a sigh of defeat. Better to change the topic. For now.

"Some of these scrapes don't look too good, you should at least disinfect them. I'll see if I can find a first-aid kit." Even though the wounds needed to be tended to, that wasn't the only reason he was eager to grab that kit. Truth be told, he was glad to get away from the entire situation for a hot minute.

He thought about telling her to stay put but, considering how this entire encounter had gone so far, seriously doubted she'd listen to him and decided against it. Turned out he'd been right in his assumption. When he returned a few minutes later, bandages, band-aid's and disinfectant in tow, she'd already gotten up from the chair, kneeling on the floor with the broom pieces, keenly inspecting them. When she noticed Neji, she simply rolled her eyes at the accusatory look he shot her and rose to her feet. At least she wasn't swaying anymore.

"Would it kill you to take it easy?"

"Since you obviously won't be convinced I'm fine any other way, yes maybe it would." She sounded almost amused, which only served to fuel his irritation. He'd been worrying about her being seriously hurt and she didn't even seem to take the situation seriously! "I'm Tenten, by the way. Thanks for the help." 

At that, she stretched out her hand and threw him a smile. A very disarming smile. Despite himself, He felt his anger fade and took her hand.

"Neji", he replied as he shook it. Then, he out down the first-aid kit on the now empty table and popped it open. "Have at it."

"Right." With that, she went to work. 

He watched, arms crossed, as she quickly found the disinfectant, spraying a generous amount of it on both of her scraped knees before repeating the process on her arms. Then, she took the roll of band-aids and a scissor out of the kit, sat down again and started cutting them up into the right sizes. The room fell quiet again as she worked and he found that, maybe, now would be the right moment to ask about what the hell had happened. 

"So, do you feel like telling me why you were lying unconscious in my uncle's back-yard?" For a few seconds, Tenten remained silent, and he was already starting to make peace with the fact that he'd never get an answer. Then, out of the blue, she spoke.

"I fucked up while flying and crashed my broom." She had _what?!_

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said." He had. And it made absolutely no sense.

"Yeah right, I totally believe that you were flying around on that broom. What's next? Let me guess, you're a witch on the way to some magic coven ritual?" Maybe he'd laid it on a bit thick with the sarcasm, but not offending Tenten wasn't exactly his first priority at this point. 

"Yes and no. I _am_ a witch, but I was actually just on my way home." She said those words so casually, as if there was nothing wrong with that answer at all, not even bothering to look up from the band-aids, which she was now placing onto her knees and arms. Then, it dawned on him.

"You're being serious."

"Yep."

"Great. That means you didn't hit your head, you were already insane before you got here." 

"Look, I don't really care if you believe me or not, but there's no need to be so rude about it." Neji didn't quite know how to react to that, but apparently, she had just as little desire to argue about her insane claims as he did, so both of them simply kept the silence. "Alright, all done", she proclaimed after a few more moments, standing up, now covered in band-aids. 

"No, you overlooked one. Right there, on your cheek." Tenten then lightly touched her fingers to the wounds, as if she hadn't even known it was there in the first place, only to hiss in pain. "Good god, don't touch it! You'll only make it worse like that." 

"Yeah, I noticed", she replied dryly. She kept standing there, apparently unsure of what to do next, before looking to him again. "Help me with this?" 

Even though she wasn't in her right mind, extremely suspicious and acting downright infuriating, it would've felt wrong to refuse her. She _was_ hurt after all. So, he nodded and gestured for her to hand him the disinfectant, their hands brushing against each other for just a fragment of a second in turn.

"Close your eyes." 

Apparently, she saw the appeal of not getting disinfectant into her eyes and let them fall closed and he took a step towards her. Up close, he could see freckles dusting her tan face and how dense and dark her lashes were. She was pretty, it occurred to him, attractive even. Too bad she was also batshit crazy. Without any further hesitation, he sprayed the disinfectant on the scrape on her face. She flinched a little, probably at the burn, but didn't complain. He then carefully put a band-aid over the wound. At the same moment, she opened her eyes again, looking directly at him, almost as if she was challenging him. For a long moment, neither of them moved as their gazes remained locked. Finally, he snapped out of it, hurriedly taking a step back.

"Right, thanks. Now to fix this heap of trash." She bounced back from their little stare-off quicker than him, already kneeling down in front of the broken broom _again._

"Well, I'm sorry but I don't exactly have any carpenter tools lying around. Or superglue, for that measure." She didn't look up to him, assessing what was in front of her instead, the tiniest of smiles appearing on her lips. 

"Don't you worry, I'll make do without. Watch and learn." She sounded oddly confident and Neji had absolutely no clue why. 

Then, before he could think of another retort, something incredible happened. As Tenten closed her eyes and touched the broken pieces with her fingertips, the air in the room started to... prickle. Almost as if it was electric. It was as if something had awoken within him that had been slumbering before. The feeling, or whatever it was, almost seemed to have a life of its own, blazing through his veins. When he looked over to Tenten, his next breath remained stuck in his throat. She was _glowing_. For a few seconds, he could do nothing but to take in this new sensation, but before he could ask himself where the feeling was coming from, something else happened. Something unbelievable. The pieces seemed to stretch and grow, as if they were living beings, before melting into each other, forming a perfectly functional broom. Tenten exhaled in a way that spoke of relief and the glow around her slowly faded, together with that strange, but not unwelcome, feeling. When she finally looked up at him her lips were curled into a satisfied smile. Where Neji was concerned, he had absolutely no idea what to say and seconds passed in silence.

"You weren't lying", he finally blurted out. After a second or so of silence, Tenten started to laugh heartily. Well, joke's on him, he supposed. 

"Of course I wasn't. Though I can hardly blame you for not believing me", she began after calming down somewhat. "Still, you should have seen your face just now!" He ignored the jab at his already bruised ego, settling for a question instead.

"What exactly did you do? Everything felt... I don't know how to put it, strange, for a second. And you were glowing!" Neji Hyuuga seldom ever lost his composure, but right now was one of those rare instances, not that anyone could blame him. She simply released a chuckle.

"That, my friend, was magic." Another smile coming over her features as she said that word. _Magic._ "Though I'm surprised you could actually feel it, that's unusual."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. But it probably means one of your ancestors was a witch as well." 

"My ancestors?"

"Technically, though it sounds a bit dramatic. It could have been your grandma for all I know. Or someone who lived and died hundreds of years ago. As long as magic is present somewhere down the bloodline that hardly matters." 

Neji had absolutely no clue how to reply to that. Up until a minute ago, he hadn't even believed witches existed. Now he was standing in the same room with one and sharing a family tree with another. Not exactly how he'd thought the evening would go.

"Well, now that my broom's fixed, I should get going. Thanks for your help, honestly." It occurred to him then, that he didn't want her to go yet. He had about a million questions he wanted, no, needed to ask. Though there was preciously little to be gained by pressing her and if she wanted to leave, who was he to tell her not to? 

"Are you sure you should be flying right now? You _did_ crash after all." Even if he wanted her gone right now, which he didn't, his concern wasn't unfounded. If she'd crashed once already, who was to say it wouldn't happen again?

"Hey, my flying is impeccable! It wasn't my fault that flock of birds just showed up out of nowhere." That didn't sound too reassuring at all really, and he threw her a worried look. Neji really didn't want to have to deal with her hurting herself again. Maybe he even felt a little concerned at her putting herself in danger like that. Maybe. "I'll be fine, promised. The enchantment wasn't damaged by the crash at all!" 

"I suppose there's no stopping you." While he released a sigh of resignation, Tenten flashed him a grin. Mischievous, but real nevertheless. 

"You learn quickly." Without any further ado, she picked up the newly repaired broom and started walking towards the door. "So, are you coming or not?" 

Neji figured he wasn't going to get another invitation to watch an actual witch take off on her ride and followed her outside. On the horizon, the sun was just setting, painting the sky in pink and orange hues. No strong winds were blowing, merely a light evening breeze, which he took to be a good sign. Then again, he didn't know the first thing about flying a goddamn broom. Meanwhile, she'd already gotten into position. To be completely honest it looked a little ridiculous, but Tenten didn't seem to mind, eyes closed and wearing an expression of concentration on her face. This time around, the sensation of magic being worked didn't catch him off guard as much as before, maybe because he'd been expecting it, maybe because it was of a different kind. It felt more subdued, more subtle and Tenten wasn't glowing. The wind rose around the two, softly bending the grass and the witch and her broom started floating, hovering a few centimeters over the ground. Only then he realized he might never see her again. At the thought, he felt something akin to... disappointment? 

"I'll see you around?", he asked, despite himself.

"Hmm, maybe. We'll see." Even though the answer sounded less than promising, her tone remained cheerful, so he didn't worry too much. With that, she threw him a wink, one that made him swear his heart skipped a beat, even though he was pretty sure there wasn't a bit of magic involved and rose higher and higher before finally accelerating and flying off. He didn't take his eyes off her until she was but a tiny black spot on the horizon. 

Neji didn't notice until way later that night, after he was done studying and getting ready for bed, the tiny slip of paper that had appeared in his back pocket, seemingly out of nowhere. A phone number was scribbled on it in messy handwriting, together with a short sentence that subconsciously made him smile. _Even witches use phones._


End file.
